Business in the UK do not expect signififigant economic recovery to begin until the third quarter of next year, but small business are more optimisc than larger firms, according to data released by office provider Regus.
The company's BusinessTracker survey asked companies about their financial performance as well as their expectations for personal and nationwide economic recovery. It revealed that British firms do not expect to see signs of recovery until September 2010.
Over 60% of small and medium-sized businesses expect to see their revenues increase in 2010, compared with only 55% of larger companies. This suggests that small businesses will lead the economic recovery, and highlights the importance of government support and growth incentives for a section of the business community that is responsible for around half the nation's turnover.
Equally, the survey revealed several significant differences between the concerns of SMEs and larger firms. Big businesses are worried about cost management, infrastructure management, and staff retention, all of which registered as above-average concerns. Small companies, on the other hand, are overwhelmingly concerned with marketing and customer retention, indicating that they are more worried about maintaining and nurturing profitable business than with cutting costs.
"Although signs of global economic recovery are starting to emerge, businesses across the services industry are remaining cautious. The bleak prediction from UK firms stands as a warning for British businesses to remain tightly controlled in the beginning of next year. Looking forward to the UK's recovery period, the bullishness of small businesses may indicate that government needs to look at the levels of support being offered to SMEs. In our economy, SMEs represent about 50% of business turnover, and ignoring this community could have a significant delaying impact on national recovery," said Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus.
